Flexible plastic fasteners known as dual head fasteners are useful for joining objects together. For example, dual head fasteners are used in attaching tags or labels to textile products such as clothing, rugs, mats, towels, and the like. Dual head fasteners comprise a pair of heads connected by a filament that runs perpendicularly between the heads. Typically, one of the heads is shaped like a bar and the other of the heads is shaped like a paddle. Dual head fasteners are dispensed by ejecting the bar-shaped head of the fastener through a hollow slotted needle which penetrates the objects to be joined.
Dual head fasteners are supplied in the form of a stock comprising a plurality of severably connected fasteners. There are two types of fastener stocks. One type comprises a plurality of fasteners connected in series with the heads attached end-to-end. Another type of fastener stock comprises a plurality of fasteners attached by means of severable necks to a runner bar with the respective heads positioned side-by-side.
Dispensers for both types of fastener stocks described above typically have a fastener feed mechanism comprising a system of wheels, ratchets, and springs. Although such dispensers have been effective, the feed mechanism is relatively complicated and fragile and tend to jam or otherwise fail. In addition, most of the dispensers are hand-held and are activated with a hand trigger. Operators of such hand-held dispensers have had problems with carpel tunnel syndrome.
Accordingly, there is a need for a simpler, more reliable, easy-to-use, dual head fastener dispenser, particularly a dispenser that applies dual head fasteners from a fastener stock wherein the fasteners are severably attached to a runner bar.